


Stinging nettle

by femspirk (daisyridley)



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Fairy Tale Style, I never mention their names but you know it's them, M/M, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, literally a bedtime story, the enterprise is a horse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 21:59:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10953549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisyridley/pseuds/femspirk
Summary: Once upon a time, a Prince went on a quest to save his lover's soul





	Stinging nettle

Once upon a time, in a joyous kingdom, lived a beautiful Prince with blond hair and a heart of gold. The Prince has a best friend and lover whom he called Beloved; the two had been together for many years and planned to be together for all the years to come.

One day, the Prince and Beloved left the castle with their horse to explore the vast fields of the kingdom. As they were strolling through a dirt road, they were surprised by a pack of robbers who wanted to kill the Prince. A ferocious fight ensued, and eventually the robbers were defeated. Beloved, however, had been mortally wounded. Not even all of the Prince’s tears could heal the injured, and with one last farewell to the Prince, Beloved passed away.

The prince cried and wailed over his lover’s body, but could do nothing to bring it back to life. With a heavy heart, he returned back to the castle, where Beloved’s body was buried. The Prince planted an amaranth over the grave, to remind everyone of his immortal love for Beloved.

Many moons passed, and one day the Prince received a visit from Beloved’s godmother.

“I have heard that your dear Beloved is dead,” the godmother said to the Prince when they met. “Why didn’t you return the body to our land?”

“I buried it here,” the Prince answered, “Because Beloved lived here, with me, not in your land.”

“You are a fool,” the godmother accused. “If you had returned it, Beloved’s soul would have been saved and preserved with our ancestors. Now everything is gone.”

The Prince did not know of this, as Beloved had never mentioned a word of it. He was desperate, and he asked Beloved’s godmother if there was something he could do to make up for his mistake.

“There is one last chance, but it won’t be easy,” the godmother said. “You’ll have to travel very far, until you reach the forest where the Seasons Sorceress lives. Some call her the Fairy of Spring; others call her the Winter Witch. If you give her something that is valuable to you, she will give you a leaf of stinging nettle-- one only. Bring it back to me, and I will use it to revive Beloved’s soul. Do you think you can complete this mission?”

“I won’t give up until I’ve managed to,” the Prince said.

“Then may your journey be swift.”

The Prince said goodbye to the godmother, promising himself that he would see her again soon. Then he went to the King to ask for his permission to leave for his quest.

“What you wish to do is honorable,” the King said. “However, you cannot go.”

“Why not?”

“You must stay here to learn how to rule the kingdom,” the King explained. “What if I died while you’re away?”

“But my brothers and sisters are here,” the Prince objected. “You can train them in the meantime.”

“You won’t go. This is my final word.”

“Very well,” the Prince said, and left the King’s side.

But he would not let the King prevent him from saving Beloved’s soul, no matter whether he wouldn’t be heir to the throne when he returned. He would still go.

Before leaving, however, there was one more thing he should do: find something to trade. Despite his prosperity, the Prince did not have many material objects close to his heart. As he walked through the throne room, he had an idea: he would still the King’s crown and bring that to the Sorceress.

That night, he set the plan in motion. Through passageways only known to him, he reached the throne room, avoiding the guards. He carefully lifted the crown from its pedestal and put it in his backpack. Then he scampered to the stables, where he got his favorite horse ready. By the time the guards noticed that someone from the inside of the castle had violated curfew, he was already out of the gates and galloping in the open. 

To find the Sorceress, he must follow a constellation the godmother had shown him. He travelled for the whole night, and only when the stars became invisible did he finally stop to rest.

He followed this pattern for many moons. One night, he saw a man travelling in the opposite direction, visibly in distress. The Prince stopped his horse and asked,

“Is everything alright?”

The man stopped his chariot and looked at the Prince in dismay. “Why are you going that way? Run, or the Winter Witch will kill us all!”

“Am I close to where she lives?” the Prince asked, not at all bothered by the man’s words.

“Yes, and you don’t want to be closer!” the man yelled, and left him in a rush.

The Prince went on. 

The following night, the Prince saw a girl slowly walking in the opposite direction.

“It would be advisable to turn back,” the girl told him quietly.

“And why is that?” the Prince asked.

“One of the Fairy’s magical experiments has failed,” she said. “It is dangerous to venture farther.”

“Thank you for your advice, but I have to keep going,” the Prince explained.

“Then good luck.”

The following night, the Prince saw a woman running in the opposite direction, in tears.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I am,” she cried, “But the Sorceress took my son. Don’t go there; she’ll take you too.”

“I have to go,” he replied. “But I’m sorry for your son.”

The following night, he finally reached the forest where the Sorceress lived. As he rode through it, he noticed that it was silent; there were no nocturnal animals around, and even the wind was quiet. The Prince thought about the man, the girl, and the woman and he began to worry. But he did not turn back.

Suddenly, a roar cut through the silence, growing louder as the Prince went on.

He reached a glade, at whose center stood the wooden hut where the Sorceress lived. She was at the window, signing him to run away with her hands.

Wrapped around the house was an enormous dragon, whose green scales shone and shifted under the starlight.

The Prince did not turn back. He got off his horse; he unsheathed his sword and ran toward the beast. The dragon did not spit fire, but whenever the Prince was close to it, he felt his skin burn. But he went on, dodging the dragon’s claws and striking it with his sword whenever he had the chance. Finally, the dragon fell to the ground.

He stood there, panting, until the Sorceress came out of the hut.

“You have defeated my dragon,” she said. “Thank you. If I had touched it, I would have died.”

“What happened here?” the Prince asked.

“A failed experiment,” she explained. “Come into my house, now.”

The prince followed her inside, and they both sat down at the table.

“Why have you come here?” the Sorceress asked.

“I am here to offer something valuable in exchange for a stinging nettle.”

“And why do you want it?” she asked, intrigued.

“To save my Beloved’s soul.”

“And what are you offering in return?”

The prince pulled out the golden crown and placed it on the table. “This,” he said. “I am heir at the throne, and this is the King’s crown.”

The Sorceress smiled. “That certainly is a precious crown, but I can see that you have no attachment to it. You do not care about being king.”

“That’s true,” the Prince sighed. “But then what can I give to you? I have nothing else. Please, I just want my soul back.”

“I will take your horse.”

The Prince’s horse had been a gift from the King, given to him exactly one week before he met Beloved; she was highly trained and extremely faithful to him, and he felt a deep affection for her.

“Very well. I will leave her with you.”

The Sorceress’s smile widened. “Then we have a deal. However, since you did in fact save my life earlier, I will repay you. Come outside.”

They stood up from the chairs and went back in the glade, where the dragon had fallen. 

“Look at it,” the Sorceress said.

The Prince did, and saw that its scales were made of stinging nettles.

“You can take not one, but as many as you can carry,” she said.

The Prince thanked her, and the deal was sealed. He burned his hands to put as many leaves as he could into his backpack. Then he waved goodbye to the Sorceress and began his journey back home.

Many moons passed. When he reached the border of his kingdom, he learned that the King had died, and one of his sisters was now Queen. He mourned the King’s death, but did not care about not being his heir anymore.

Many more moons passed. The Prince finally reached the castle. He was greeted with joy and pomp, but he soon sneaked away from the festivity to search for Beloved’s godmother. She was by Beloved’s tomb, where the amaranth flourished.

“I found the Sorceress,” the Prince said, “and saved her life. Instead of a single stinging nettle, she gave me many.”

The godmother was shocked and moved and she almost burst into tears. “With this many, I may be able to do more than save just Beloved’s soul,” she explained. “But I have never attempted to do this, and you must not held any hope for my success, as I could likely fail.”

“I will hope anyways,” the Prince said.

“Now go away. I will call you when I’m done.”

From dawn to dusk the Prince waited, surrounded by his brothers and sisters. Finally, Beloved’s godmother came to them, and behind her-- Beloved, alive!

The Prince parted from his siblings and stepped forward, while the godmother stepped aside and let Beloved walk to him.

“My Prince,” Beloved said.

The Prince smiled. “Beloved,  _ ashayam _ , my  _ t’hy’la _ … you’re back.”

**Author's Note:**

> hi you may leave kudos or tell me if you'd rather watch this as a movie than another disney adaptation


End file.
